IMEC’s Magic Camera

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, is one of Arthur C. Clarke’s memorable sayings and the remark fits a development from Europe’s No.1 microelectronics institute, IMEC of Belgium.

At a multi-camera covered sporting event, IMEC can position a virtual camera anywhere on the sporting surface.

This seems impossible, but IMEC has created algorithms that convert input from fixed cameras into a 3D space from which virtual camera views are created.

So the director of a video broadcast can choose a spot from which a camera shot would be desirable, and the algorithms will create images of what a shot from that position would look like as if there was a real camera on that spot.

So it’s possible to have images from a camera-position where it would be impossible to put a real camera. Like the penalty spot on a soccer field.

IMEC calls it the Imec Virtual Camera (iVC) and says: ”iVC gives the director a flying camera that he can easily steer anywhere he wants to find the ultimate angle. iVC is also unique because it allows real-time advanced image manipulation on still shots, slow motion and even on live video feed.”